The Hitter and the Rose
by MelodySong13
Summary: When Bianca was in high school she came to America for a foreign exchange program. Her host family was Eliot Spencer's. She thought she was a normal girl, until an unfortunate event lead to her discovering her true identity. Now as adults she and Eliot remain friends and team members. Can he protect her from the shadows?
1. Note

Quick Note before starting!

Bianca and Eliot will sometimes be speaking Italian. Message me with anything you don't understand and I'll gladly translate it for you. I didn't want to make this a crossover because the characters will never cross paths, but it has the Priory of Sion like _The Da Vinci Code_.

Enjoy and I'll update as soon as I can


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: The first few chapters are going to be about when Bianca and Eliot were teenagers, then it's gonna time jump to when they join the team. This chapter is a bit shorter than I would've liked it to be, but I didn't want to rush anything.**

Chapter 1:

Bianca Giordano got off the plane in Dallas, Texas. She had no idea what to expect here in America. She had lived the first fifteen and a half years of her life in a small town Tuscany. She was actually very nervous. School would be different; she didn't know what was expected of her by her peers. All she did know was that she was, in the words of her mother, "very lucky to have this opportunity". She wasn't so sure about her luck now, especially because the airport had already lost one of her bags. As she neared the lobby of the airport, she saw two figures that looked like a mother and son (and were). The mother excitedly started waving while the son, who couldn't have been more than a few months older than herself, stood there looking embarrassed.

Eliot Spencer was indeed embarrassed that his mother had just started waving at this girl like a lunatic. Now she was yelling at him to go help her with her bags and say "hello" for her. Eliot was taking Italian at school and was the top of his class. He was almost fluent. His mom, however, didn't know one word of Italian; neither did his dad for that matter.

He walked over to the girl quickly to offer her help, "Ciao, uh, hai bisogno d'aiuta?" He hoped that was right.

"Si, un po'," Bianca laughed, "Mi chiamo Bianca."

"Sono Eliot, uh…"

"It's ok, Eliot, I speak English."

 _Thank God_ Eliot thought. "Well, my mom is waiting for us over there, so let's go," he said picking up one of her bags.

"Ok," Bianca replied. _Wow,_ she thought to herself, _I hope they're all this nice._

As they made their way back over to Eliot's mom, Bianca could see how nervous this woman was, "Hello, I'm Bianca," she said in English. She could see the relief in her eyes.

"Hi Bianca, I'm Emily Spencer. You've met Eliot. How was your flight?"

"It was long," Bianca giggled.

The three of them went out to the car and drove to the Spencer residence. It was pretty silent in the car for a few minutes until Eliot broke the silence.

"So, where in Italy are you from, Bianca?"

"I'm from Vinci. It's in Firenze—I mean Florence."

"Vinci?" Eliot asked, "Like Leonardo?"

"Yes, he was born there."

"That's amazing! He's my favorite artist!"

"Mine too! I know there are many other famous artists from Italy that are arguably more impressive, but something about _La Giocanda_ really amazes me."

"What's La Giocanda?" Eliot's mother asked, "I've never heard of that one before."

Eliot buried his face in his hands and shook his head, "Yes you have, mom. It's _The Mona Lisa_."

"Oh," she said, "I'm sorry, I've never heard its Italian name. What does that mean?"

"I don't know exactly," Bianca replied, "but I think it has something to do with her smile."

They pulled up in front of the house, where Eliot's dad was waiting to greet their guest and help with the bags.

"Hi," he introduced himself, "I'm Mike."

"I'm Bianca," she replied, "Nice to meet you."

"So how do you like America so far?" He asked.

"It's…different."

"Your English is wonderful! Did you learn it at school?"

"No," she replied, "my mother is from America so at home I speak both English and Italian."

It was indeed different. She hadn't seen anything like Dallas back home in Italy. Her biggest fear was having to go to school the next day. Would the students like her? Would they treat her differently just because she wasn't American?

Emily showed Bianca the guest room and left her alone to unpack and relax before dinner. A few hours later, when dinner was over Bianca was back in her room reading. She heard a knock on the closed bedroom door. She got out of bed and opened the door.

It was Eliot. "Bianca," he said, "Sono nella classe d'italiano AP a scuola. Se non vorresti parlare inglese, posso parlare con te in italiano."

Bianca thought for a minute, looking into his blue eyes. She could tell he was nervous. _Why is he doing this?_ She wondered. _Does he think I don't like speaking English? Does he think it would make me feel more at home to speak Italian? He's probably just being polite._

After briefly considering her response she decided to speak Italian, "Grazie, Eliot," she replied with a smile.

Eliot was starting to stare at her. He had never seen eyes like hers, or a smile like hers. He finally spoke, "Goodnight, Bianca."

"Goodnight," she said almost in a whisper.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Bianca woke up hours before her alarm went off the next morning. She tossed and turned, but she couldn't go back to sleep. She was dreading what her first day of American high school would be like. She was so nervous that she almost made herself sick to her stomach. When 7:00 finally rolled around, she got out of bed and got dressed for school. She took fifteen minutes to decide what to wear. She finally settled on a pink and purple floral sundress. She did her hair in a braid, and put on her makeup. Before she knew it, it was time to leave for school.

She and Eliot walked out the front door together and started their walk to school. It took about 15 minutes to get from the house to the high school. It was pretty awkward at first, too. They didn't talk for the first five minutes of the walk. It was Bianca who started the conversation.

"So…what's school like here in America?" she asked nervously.

"It's about eight hours long. We have the same schedule every day. It's eight classes about 45 minutes each, including lunch break. You'll have to go to the office and get your schedule."

"Oh…I didn't realize it was the same every day here. In Italia-I mean Italy-, it's two schedules that are alternated every day."

"That seems more interesting than doing the same exact thing every day for nine months."

"I don't know," she laughed, "I go to the wrong class all the time, to be honest."

"I probably would too."

"So I have to go to the office first?"

"Yeah, the school year began a few weeks back, so everyone else has their schedules. You'll get that and your locker combination. Are you ok, Bianca?"

"Yeah, I'm just nervous. I don't know how American teenagers act. I heard horrible things from some of my friends in Italy. They say that if you're different, they don't like you. Is it true, Eliot?"

"Only some people are like that, but you should be fine, Bianca, you're a nice girl; you'll make friends."

"Oh…I hope you're right," she said as they walked through the doors of the school.

"The office is that way," Eliot told her as he pointed down the hall, "Third door on your left. I have to get to class, so good luck."

"Thanks," she called after him as he walked away.

Bianca walked down the hall towards the office. She stood outside the closed door for a minute, and took a deep breath. _Tutto sara' ok, Bianca_ , she told herself as she opened the door. She walked up to the desk.

The secretary asked, "Well, what do you need?"

"I'm the new exchange student," Bianca replied, "I'm Bianca Giordano. It's my first day, I was told to come here and get my schedule."

"Hold on one minute, honey" the secretary said sweetly. She began rifling through some papers in filing cabinets. She finally found the schedule and handed it to Bianca, "Here ya go, honey. You're first class is in room 107, down the hall to the right, good luck."

"Thank you."

Bianca looked at her schedule.

First Period- Algebra

Second Period- American History

Third Period- Italian

Fourth Period- French

Fifth Period- Lunch

Sixth Period- English

Seventh Period- Environmental Science

Eighth Period- P.E.

 _Non e' male_ , she thought.

She walked into her Algebra classroom with a pass from the office and handed it to the teacher, Mr. Tyler. Then he did the thing that she'd been hoping he wouldn't do.

"Class," he announced, "This is Bianca, she's a foreign exchange student from Italy; she'll be with us for the rest of the year. Please make her feel welcome. You may have a seat, Bianca."

Bianca felt her face getting red with embarrassment as she sat down, in the only empty seat, next to a girl wearing a cheerleading uniform. Bianca smiled at her, but the girl just rolled her eyes and looked the other way.

After class, Mr. Tyler handed Bianca a textbook, "You'll need this for some of the homework assignments. Do you have any questions about the lesson or the school or anything?"

"Yes," Bianca replied, "How do I get to room 209?"

"Oh, that's upstairs. It's the second door on the left once you walk up the stairs."

"Thank you," Bianca said before leaving the classroom.

The next class was interesting. Bianca had always liked history.

When she walked into her Italian classroom, she noticed that the desks were arranged differently in this class. They were arranged to form 3 sides of a square. There was a circular table in the middle where the teacher sat when he wasn't at his desk. She was relieved to see Eliot was in her class. She walked, quickly, to the seat next to his and sat down.

"How's this class?" she asked him.

"It's easy…if Mr. Chiaro likes you. He'll definitely like you though."

"Why?" 

"Because," Eliot laughed, "You're Italian. He was born in Italy and he really doesn't like most Americans."

The bell rang and everyone settled down and took their seats.

"Buongiorno classe!" the teacher said enthusiastically, "Abbiamo una studentessa italiana nella nostra classe quest'anno!"

They all stared at Bianca for a minute until the teacher continued, "Bianca, dove sei nata?"

"Sono nata a Firenze, ma adesso mia famiglia abita a Vinci."

"Vinci?" someone asked, "Like Leonardo?"

"Yes," Bianca replied, "like Leonardo."

"Interessante," the teacher said. He then got on with his lesson. Bianca liked the class. She really liked her French class too. Madame Collet was the nicest teacher she'd met all day.

Bianca was so happy when she discovered she had the same lunch period as Eliot. She was just happy not to have to sit by herself. Eliot was happy too. He usually sat with the rest of the football team, but they got annoying after a while. When he saw Bianca walk into the cafeteria, he got up from his usual table and went to sit with her.

"Eliot," she told him, "You don't have to sit with me; you can sit with your friends."

"It's OK, Bianca. They're boring anyway."

"Then why do you sit with them?"

"Because, we're on the football team, it's just what everyone expects us to do."

"Oh, I didn't know you were on the football team. Is it fun?"

"The sport or being on the team?"

"Both, I guess."

"The sport is fun. I'm pretty good, if I do say so myself. Being on the team with a bunch of jerks is something I could do without."

"They can't all be that bad, can they?"

"Some of them are alright, I guess. The others think they're superstars and that the rules don't apply to them."

"That's true in every sport though. You should have seen the calcio team—I mean soccer team—at my high school in Italy."

"They were bad too?"

"Italians think of soccer the same way Americans think of football."

"I meant to ask you, Bianca, what high school were you going to in Italy?"

"Liceo linguistico."

"Really? What other languages were you studying?"

"French, Latin, and Arabic."

"Wow!"

"Yeah, my mother says I have a talent for linguistics."

"Well, you can switch from English to Italian and back to English again pretty easily."

"So can you, Eliot."

"Not as well as you."

"That's not your fault though; I have one parent who's Italian and one who's American. I just got lucky."

The bell rang and they got up to go to class. Bianca went to her English class, which turned out better than expected. The teacher, Mr. Solomon, was a bit kooky, and Bianca enjoyed the book they were reading, _Chronicle of a Death Foretold_. She had read the book before in Italian, making it a bit easier for her. Her environmental science class went by slowly, even though her teacher, Mrs. Reeves, was nice. Bianca never liked any of the sciences.

Her final class of the day was physical education, or gym, as Americans called it. She was pleased to find out that they were starting the unit on soccer. The football players, including Eliot, thought they were untouchable as they formed their team. Eliot suggested to his teammates that they pick Bianca, but they were convinced that she, a girl, would only slow them down. Big mistake. The gym coach instructed them to pick their teams. The stubborn football team refused to pick Bianca and strictly picked nothing but the boys in the class until it was only two girls left and they were forced to pick the cheerleader from Bianca's math class. The other team captain knew better and picked Bianca, realizing that Italians are practically born with soccer balls at their feet.

The game started. Bianca moved to the front line and faced the biggest football player on the team. Eliot watched nervously, knowing this could end only one of two ways. Either the huge quarterback would trample Bianca to get to the ball, or she would easily maneuver it passed him and infuriate him. The latter scenario is the one that played out. He desperately chased after her trying to lead her to traps set by the other players. It didn't work. As her team cheered her on, she worked her way passed all the football players. The cheerleader was their goalie. Bianca reached the goal and kicked the ball into the upper right hand corner of the goal. Score! Bianca's team went wild cheering and clapping. The cheerleader's face turned bright red with anger. Looking around, Bianca could see the same enraged expression on the face of the entire football team, except Eliot who stood there, almost gloating, with the expression of "I told you so" written on his face.

Just then, the bell rang and everyone rushed into the locker room to change. When she left the school that day, she saw Eliot walking with his friends. She could have sworn she actually heard him say, "Told ya so."


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Bianca's teammates call her "Bi". It's pronounced "Bee".**

 **Chapter 3:**

At dinner that night, Emily asked Bianca how her first day of school was.

"It was ok," Bianca replied, "It's definitely different than Italian high school."

"Nothing exciting happened then?" Emily asked.

Eliot spoke up, "Mom, you should have seen Bianca in gym class today! We were playing soccer and she single-handedly defeated the football players."

"Is that so?" Mike asked.

"Yeah," Bianca laughed, "I guess they just weren't expecting it, that's all."

"Seriously, Bianca," Eliot said, "You should try out for the girls' soccer team."

"I don't even like soccer, Eliot. That's just what my friends and I played growing up."

"Oh," Eliot said, "You're really good though! Mom, Dad, you guys should've seen the looks on my teammates' faces! It was priceless."

The next day, Bianca walked out of the locker room in gym class to the sound of the football players arguing with the gym coach.

"Too bad," she heard the coach say, "You know the rules. Once you pick your team, it stays that way for the unit. Perhaps y'all should've listened to Eliot yesterday."

Bianca looked over at the team and noticed the cheerleader-whose name, she learned, was Cara-glaring at her.

"Alright, class," said the coach, "get with your teams and let's begin."

Bianca watched as Eliot's team huddled, and desperately tried to come up with a plan. Bianca's team told her to move to the front to get the ball.

The game started and as Bianca rushed towards the ball, she heard her teammates cheering her on, "GO BI!" Then she heard Cara yell, "NOW!" Before she knew what was happening the biggest football player on the team ran at her head-on. His elbow collided with her face as she looked up. She fell to the ground clutching her nose. When she uncovered her nose and looked at her hands, there was blood everywhere. The coach blew her whistle, and the game stopped. Eliot sprinted over to Bianca and kneeled down beside her.

"Bianca, are you ok?" he asked worriedly.

Bianca's head hurt and she felt dizzy. She shook her head. _No!_

The coach ran over and asked Eliot to escort Bianca to the nurse's office.

"Are you ok to walk, Bi?" Eliot asked.

Bianca nodded as Eliot helped her up off the ground. While she and Eliot were walking out of the gym, they heard Coach Brookes losing her mind on the football player that rushed Bianca.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Eliot asked Bianca.

"Yeah," she said pinching her nose not to get blood everywhere, "I'll be fine, Eliot."

"He's such an asshole! I could kill him sometimes."

"It's ok, Eliot, he probably just meant to push me. It was probably an accident."

"It wasn't an accident. Jeromy is an ass. He'll do anything to win, or make Cara happy."

Bianca didn't want to gossip in English so she decided to switch to Italian, "Cara e' la sua ragazza?"

"Si. Le due sono orribili. Sono meschini senza ragione."

"E' triste."

"Si, e' triste," Eliot agreed. He knew well enough how sad it was to watch Cara brutally make fun of another girl until she cried, or see Jeromy shove the scrawny smart kid into a locker, and laugh.

They arrived at the nurse's office, and Eliot explained what happened (after the nurse told Bianca she couldn't understand what she was saying with her accent and pinched nose). Eliot then called his mother and explained to her that Bianca had been injured in gym and needed to go to a doctor.

Emily came to pick up Bianca. She took Bianca to the hospital to have her nose x-rayed. It was broken. At least it wasn't bleeding anymore. The doctor set Bianca's nose and bandaged it. He gave her a list of instructions and dos and don'ts.

When they got back home, Bianca called her parents and told them what happened.

Eliot was secretly listening to Bianca talk to her parents on the phone.

"Hi, Mom, it's Bianca. Well, I broke my nose in gym class today. I'm ok Mom. No I didn't run into a pole. Some guy elbowed me in the face while we were playing soccer. I think it was an accident. I think you're overreacting. Mom? Mom? Papa, si sono ok. E' stata un'incidente, Papa. Si. Durante una partitia di calico nella classe d'educazione fisica. Si e' solo la mia nosa. Si. Ti amo. Ciao Mom, I told you I'm fine. I only have to keep the bandages on for a few weeks. No, I don't want to come home. You know what I mean, Mom. Yes. I will. Love you too. Bye." Bianca rolled her eyes.

"That sounded like it went well," Eliot laughed.

Bianca shook her head and smiled, "The first thing my mom asked me after 'Was it on purpose?' was "Do you want to just come home, Bianca?'"

"You don't want to go home?"

"No. Don't get me wrong, Eliot I miss my parents, but I didn't come to America to stay for two days then get scared and run home. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I get it. It's good that you're staying. It'll show Jeromy and Cara that you aren't shaken by them."

"Why don't they like me? What did I do to them?"

"Well, Jeromy is pissed that you beat him at a sport and, from what I hear, Cara just thinks you're prettier than her."

"Where did you hear that?"

"I overheard Jeromy talking to the guys about it at lunch. Cara is pretty superficial like that. She can't stand it when a guy might choose another girl over her. It doesn't even matter if she has a boyfriend.

"I'm going to go to bed. I'm really tired, and I don't think the blood-loss is helping me," Bianca laughed.

"Alright, goodnight, see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Eliot."

The next day Bianca walked into her history class and expected to see Jeromy, instead she saw an empty seat. Third period she saw Eliot for Italian. She took her seat next to him and whispered, "Dove e' Jeromy?"

"Non hai sentito?"

"No, heard what?"

"He got suspended for purposely breaking your nose," Eliot smiled, satisfied that justice had been done.

"It _was_ on purpose?"

"At least that's what he implied when Coach Brookes asked what he was thinking."

"I guess 'Big Bad Bianca' can't beat him at soccer anymore," Bianca laughed, "I got put in study hall during eighth period. I could probably still play, but the doctor said not to."

"That sucks. At least you can get your homework done or something."

"Sucks?"

"Oh, that means 'stinks'."

"Oh, ok. Sorry…the only English I know is from my mom and the classes I took at school. My mom never used that word," Bianca giggled.

The next few weeks and months nothing eventful happened. It wasn't until the end of January that Bianca received the worst news of her life.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

It wasn't until after Christmas break that Jeromy was allowed back in school. It was the first day of school after break. Bianca was walking down the hall to her Italian class, when all of her books were knocked out of her hands and onto the floor. Her papers were all scattered throughout the hallway.

"You bitch!" she heard Jeromy's familiar voice bark at her, "You got me suspended! You told them it was on purpose didn't you?"

"I—I," Bianca stammered. She was too shocked to come up with a response.

"What is it Bianca? Can't you speak enough English to answer my damn question?" he taunted her. She was almost in tears, and honestly, she was a little afraid. This boy had broken her nose for beating him in soccer. Imagine what he would do to her for getting him suspended. He shoved her backwards and she stumbled (but did not fall).

Just then Bianca heard another familiar voice. It was Eliot, "HEY!" he shouted at Jeromy, "You leave her alone, asshole!"

"What are you going to do Spencer?" he asked Eliot. As Eliot walked over, Jeromy turned to Bianca, "Does your boyfriend here always talk for you?" he taunted.

Bianca took a deep breath and finally spoke, "Eliot isn't my boyfriend," she said calmly, "I can speak for myself, and I did not get you suspended. You got yourself suspended."

"Shut the hell up, bitch!" he shouted as he pushed her again. She didn't fall.

"I said 'leave her alone' Jeromy! Or else," Eliot said as he arrived at her side.

"Really, Spencer, or else what?" he said shoving Bianca harder. This time she fell.

She wasn't hurt at all, but before she even hit the ground Eliot had already landed a punch on Jeromy's face. Before Jeromy knew it, he was up against a locker with Eliot's arm across his neck.

"Now," Eliot said, through his teeth, "that's no way t treat a lady, is it, Jeromy?"

"Go to hell, Spencer!"

Eliot pushed him back harder, "How about you apologize and we can forget this ever happened? OK?"

Bianca stood there watching in disbelief. She knew Eliot was her best friend, but she had no idea he would ever go this far to protect her.

"Eliot," she finally said, "Basta. Non voglio una scuse."

He didn't stop.

"Eliot," Bianca said more worried, "per favore, smetti! Eliot, un insegnante vedra'! La smetti!"

Eliot looked at her for a moment and then back at Jeromy. He let Jeromy off the locker, looked him in the eye and warned him, "Never put your hands on her again, understand? You are never to bother her again."

Jeromy walked away quickly without saying a word. He wouldn't be a problem for Bianca anymore.

"Eliot," Bianca said, "you didn't have to do that. I could have handled the situation by myself."

"I know," Eliot replied as he helped Bianca pick up her books and papers, "I just want you to feel safe in school here. I don't want you to always have to be looking over your shoulders, afraid of Jeromy…or anyone for that matter."

"You could have gotten in serious trouble, Eliot."

"I know, Bi, but I can't stand to see him do that to anyone especially one of my friends. I hate it when people think it's ok for them to torment and threaten others just because they're bigger or more powerful."

"I hate it too, but you can't jeopardize your education for it. I doubt your parents would be happy with me if you got suspended for getting into a fight because of me."

"I think they'd understand. They know how angry it makes me. Besides, you're practically family now anyway."

Bianca smiled, "Thank you, Eliot. It's good to know I have someone looking out for me."

Two weeks passed, and Bianca didn't have any problems with Jeromy. Cara, however, still got in an occasional snicker at Bianca. She overheard Cara whispering to her friends in gym on multiple occasions, "She's like a freak or something. She remembers literally everything she hears."

Bianca decided not to stay quiet this time, "Actually, Cara, I have an eidetic memory. That means I remember everything I see, or hear, or read, etcetera. That does not make me a freak. It does, however, make me intelligent. It's not all it's cracked up to be either though. It's a blessing and a curse really."

"Whatever," Cara mumbled, defeated.

Eliot, having overheard Bianca, brought it up on the walk home, "You really have an eidetic memory?"

"Yeah, it makes school pretty easy. I don't have to study really."

"That is so cool, Bi!"

"Like I told Cara though, it's a blessing and a curse."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there are things I wish I could forget, you know, scary scenes from movies, nightmares, these are things I can never un-see."

"I hadn't thought of that…but still not having to study is pretty great right?"

"Oh," Bianca gloated, "It's freaking awesome!"

"So what are some things you want to forget? That is, if you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, you know, like I said bad dreams…stuff like that…oh and every minute I spent in CCD."

"You're Catholic?"

"I was born in Italy, Eliot, of course I'm Catholic. I'm confirmed and everything. I hated every second I spent in CCD though."

"Me too," Eliot laughed, "What name did you take?"

"Rosa," Bianca answered, "It was my grandmother's name."

"I took the name Gabriel, after my grandfather. So what's your full name then?"

"Bianca Mary Rosa Giordano."

"Mary? Not Maria?"

"My mom wanted at least one American sounding name in there," Bianca laughed, "So what's your full name then?"

"Eliot Nicholas Gabriel Spencer."

"Nice, I've always liked the name Nicholas."

"Why?"

"Nicholas is a character from one of my favorite books."

"What book?"

" _The Vampire Lestat_ , it's by Anne Rice."

"I've never read it."

"I have the whole series with me; I'll let you borrow them. You have to start with _Interview with the Vampire_ though."

"I'll start as soon as we get home."

 _Yes,_ Bianca thought, _I've converted someone else to the dark side!_

Eliot and Bianca walked into the empty house. There was a note from Emily, "Eliot, Went to the grocery store, be back soon. Love, Mom."

Bianca went directly to her room to search for her book. When she found it she emerged and handed it to Eliot, "Here it is. Now before I let you borrow this book there are a few things you should know. 1, this book is sacred, no harm is to come to it. 2, it might take a while to read; there is some pretty deep stuff in it. 3, it is the first book in a 13 or 14 book series. If you are not ready for that kind of commitment, don't even bother with this one."

"I can handle it, Bi," Eliot laughed, "Oh, and you're completely insane, by the way."

"Yeah, I know."

The phone rang. Eliot answered it, "Hello. Hold on one second. Bi! It's for you! Someone is calling from Italy!"

Bianca rushed over _It must be Mom and Dad!_ , "Pronto!"

"Bianca Giordano?" she heard an unfamiliar voice ask on the other end.

"Si?" she responded.

"Mi dispiace, Signorina Giordano, ma c'e' stata un incidente, un fuocco."

"Un fuocco?"

"Si, mi dispiace d'informarti, ma i tuoi genitori…le due sono morti nel fuoco."

Bianca started trembling fighting back tears as best she could.

"Il funerale sara' questo weekend a sabato sera. I caribinieri hanno fornito due biglietti per te. Il volo e' giovedi' sera alle sei. Mi dispiace per la tua perdita."

"Grazie per l'informazione." Bianca hung up the phone and walked into the other room, tears rolling down her face.

"Bianca, what's wrong?" Eliot asked.

Bianca said nothing; she just stared into space wondering if this was real life, if what she just heard was true.

"Bi? Bianca? Bianca, che e' successa?"

"My parents," she said slowly.

"What happened, Bi?"

"There was," she said, "There was…"

"Bi, are you ok?"

She shook her head no as she began to cry hysterically, "There was a fire!" she shouted through her tears, "They're dead! My parents are dead! I'm never going to see them again!"

Eliot hugged her and she buried her face in his chest and sobbed. "Bianca," he said, "I'm so sorry."

"It's not fair!" she screamed.

"It's gonna be ok, Bi."

"No it's not!"

Bianca ran into her room and slammed the door. She cried and cried until finally she fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

When Bianca woke up, it was only 7:00 at night. She momentarily forgot the phone call she had received. It took her all of 2 seconds to remember. She immediately burst into tears. _Questo non e' reale. E' un sogno…no…un incubo._ Bianca was thinking this over and over in her mind. She could not believe what she had heard hours before on the phone. _Non e' possibile._

There was a knock at the bedroom door. "Bianca, sweetie," she heard Emily say, "it's Emily. Can I come in?"

"Yes, come in."

Emily entered the room to find Bianca sitting on the bed, her face bright red and stained with tears. She looked like she felt.

"Eliot told me what happened. I am so sorry, Bianca," she said as she wrapped her arms around her.

"I-," Bianca started, "I keep thinking this is a nightmare. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and talk to my parents on the phone and tell them about this crazy dream I had."

"Is there anything I can do, Bianca?" Emily asked, "I know how horrible you feel, but I promise you…it gets better."

"No, I'll be OK, Emily. I have to leave for the airport on Thursday at 3:30. My flight is at 6:00."

"You're going by yourself?"

"Well, the police have provided 2 tickets for me, but I don't know who I'd ask."

"I'm sure Eliot would go with you."

"You think so? I couldn't ask him to do that though."

"Why not? He knows Italian. I'll ask him for you if you want."

"No, it's ok. I'll ask him."

"I'll send him in for you," Emily said as she stood up and made her way towards the door, "Bianca, it'll all be OK…I promise."

"Thanks, Emily."

Bianca tried to take a deep breath, but it was still trembling. She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to tell herself that Emily was right. She couldn't even breathe through her nose; it was too stuffed from her crying. She closed her eyes, _coraggio_ , she thought. That was what her father would tell her, _be brave_.

"Bi," she heard Eliot's voice from the doorway, "Mom said you wanted to talk to me."

"Yeah," she sniffled, "come on in."

"So, what's up, Bi? Feelin' any better?"

"No, I'm still feeling pretty terrible. It still seems a little unreal, even though I know it is real. I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" he asked. Bianca didn't respond right away, "Bi, Che cos'e'?"

"Devo volare a Vinci questo giovedi' alle sei. La polizia mi ha datto due bigliette. Puoi venire con me?"

"Certamente, Bianca!"

"Non devi se-"

"Bianca, voglio andare con te."

"Grazie, Eliot."

Thursday came and Bianca had all of her bags packed. She and Eliot were out the door and ready on their way to the airport at 3:30. Airport wasn't very crowded, but it still took forever.

"Call me when your flight lands, Eliot!" Emily shouted as they got out of the car.

"OK, Mom," Eliot replied.

Time skip!

The flight was 17 hours. Bianca spent most of it crying silently, the rest was spent sleeping. Eliot slept a lot. While he wasn't sleeping, he was making sure Bianca was OK."

The plane landed in Florence and they had to take a bus to Vinci. The police greeted them at the hotel.

"Signora Giordano, mi chiamo commandante Ernesto Rectore," the officer said, "mi dispiace per la sua perdita. Ho bisogno di parlare con te piu' tardi. C'e' alcune cose del fuoco che dobbiamo discutere,"

"Va bene, grazie, commandante."

It was 5am in Vinci, so Bianca and Eliot went to sleep. They woke up at around 10am. Bianca got dressed in all black (as an Italian woman, this is what was expected of her) and ready to go out.

"Eliot, devo andare alla casa, il commandante e' la' adesso," Bianca told him.

"Andro' con te, ho bisogno solo cinque minuti."

"OK…Eliot thanks again for coming with me."

When they arrived at Bianca's destroyed home, Commander Rectore was waiting for them. 

"Buongiorno, signorina Giordano," he greeted Bianca.

"Ciao, commandante, possiamo parlare inglese oggi per il mio amico?," she asked.

"Of course," he replied, "Miss Giordano, there are a few things that are unusual about this fire."

"Unusual? How?"

"We don't think it was an accident."

"You mean someone murdered my parents?" she felt the tears rising in her eyes, "Why would someone want my parents dead? Are you sure?"

"Well, it seems like there were two individual fires started, one at the front door and one at the back door. This would have prevented any escape."

"I'm sorry," Bianca said, "I can't do this," she cried as she ran away from her house.

Eliot ran after her, "Bi, it's OK, you don't have to do this. You don't have to talk to the police anymore if you don't want to."

"My parents were good people, Eliot! They never hurt anyone!"

"I know, Bi, I know."

"I have to go talk to my parents' lawyer this afternoon."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"It's OK; I can do this one on my own."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

As Bianca walked into the lawyer's office, she read the name on the door, Vittoria Solderini.

"Hello," the lawyer said in English, "I'm so sorry for your loss, Miss Giordano. Your mother instructed me to talk to you in English. There are a few things to go over, I won't keep you long."

"OK," Bianca replied.

"OK, so you are your parents' only surviving relative. They have left everything to you. Your mother wrote you this letter. The instructions say not to read it until you're alone," she said as she handed Bianca the sealed envelope.

Bianca examined the envelope. It was sealed with melted wax in the shape of a Fleur-de-lis. The two finished their meeting and Bianca went back to the hotel room. Eliot wasn't there. He left her a note: "Bi, went to get some coffee. Be back soon, -Eliot".

She unsealed the envelope and carefully removed and unfolded the letter.

"Bianca, I hope this letter finds you in your old age. If you're reading this, your father and I have both died without telling you the truth about who you are. Bianca, you are a descendant of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. Your father and I did not tell you because we feared for your safety. The bloodline goes through my family from my mother and her father. They were French, but you knew that. There is a secret society, a brotherhood that protects our family called "The Priory of Sion". They know we are dead by now and will probably contact you in the next few days. They have instructed me to tell you that they will now protect you as they have protected our family for hundreds and hundreds of years. Now, Bianca, you must pick one person to tell your secret to. This person must be someone you trust completely, someone who you trust with your life. Once you have chosen this person (and you can take months, years if you need to), they will become a member of the Priory and help to protect you. I know this letter will leave you with a lot of questions and the Priory will answer them all for you. Bianca, my beautiful girl, your father and I love you very much and we're sorry to leave you, but we leave you in good hands.

Love,

Mom and Papa"

 _What did I just read?_


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

Bianca's hands were trembling as she reread the letter from her mother. She could not believe what she saw on the paper before her. Just then Eliot walked in.

"Hey, Bi…are you alright? You're really pale."

"I'm fine," she lied hiding the letter.

"How'd it go with the lawyer?"

"It went well; she was nice."

"Are you sure you're OK, Bi? You seem shaken up."

"The lawyer gave me a letter from my mother. It has some heavy stuff in it, that's all."

 _The letter said to tell someone I trust. Maybe I should tell Eliot_. She looked at Eliot and considered telling him. _Not yet._

"What kind of stuff?"

"Nothing really, I just thought I'd never hear from her again and it shocked me a little."

"Oh, ok."

The phone rang in the room, "I'll get it," Bianca said quickly.

"Pronto," she answered the phone.

"Bianca Giordano?"

"Si, chi e' questo?"

"Hai ricevuto una lettera oggi?"

"Si, ho ricevuto una lettera da mia madre."

"Sono un amico, possiamo parlare inglese per favore?"

"Yes, of course. You are the friend my mother wrote about in her letter?"

"Yes, I am a member of the Priory of Sion. My name is Eric Kelly, I'm sorry for your loss. We believe that someone knew about you mother and started the fire to kill her. We must discuss your protection, Miss Giordano."

"Please, call me Bianca or Bi."

"OK, Bianca, we here at the Priory believe that America would be safer for you than Italy. Is it OK with you to move there permanently?" 

"Um," Bianca thought for a moment, "Yes, that's fine with me, but can I stay at the school I'm in now?"

"Of course, we have members in Dallas who would be happy to adopt you. We'll make all of the arrangements for you. You don't need to worry about anything."

"Will I have to change my last name?"

"No, not if you don't want to."

"Thank you," she sighed, "One more thing, I have chosen someone, but I'm not going to tell him yet."

"Take your time, Bianca. Just tell everyone that you're going to live with a distant cousin who coincidentally lives in Texas."

"OK, is there anything else I should know?"

"I will be at your parents' funeral to protect you there. We can discuss more in person."

"Thank you, Mr. Kelly."

"Eric, and I will see you tomorrow. Good bye Bianca."

"Bye," she hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Eliot called from the other room.

"Just a friend of my parents'," she lied, "They said my mom has a cousin in Dallas. I'm going to be living with them."

"That's great! We'll still be in school together!"

"Yeah, I guess there really is a bright side to every situation."

"So," Eliot said more seriously, "you ready for tomorrow?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose…"

"Do you need any help getting everything set up?"

"No, some friends of my parents are doing everything. They don't think I should have to at my age."

"You shouldn't. That's nice of them. I'll be there with you, if you need me tomorrow."

"I know, thank you again, Eliot…you really don't have to come."

"I want to be there for you, Bi, you're my best friend. So is there a burial or something afterwards?"

"No, there aren't any bodies; it's just a memorial tomorrow."

"Oh…are you going to be OK?"

"Yeah, I just wish…never mind."

"No, what?"

"I wish people would stop apologizing. 'Sorry' isn't going to bring them back."

"I know, Bi, but it's just something people say."

"I know," she half laughed, "it just seems weird to me."

The funeral was shorter than Bianca expected. Eric Kelly was there. He was younger than Bianca expected. He couldn't have been older than 35. He was about 5 foot 10, (which was much taller than Bianca's 5 foot 2), he was thin; he had light brown hair and blue eyes. He pulled Bianca aside for a few minutes to talk privately about her adoption. It had been finalized quickly (the Priory has a member that works at the agency). She was also a US citizen because her mother was (the Priory had someone in that office too). Everything would be ready by the time Bianca's exchange program was over in March. She could meet her adoptive family before then if she wanted. Everything was going to be OK after all.

Eliot and Bianca had to take a flight back to Dallas that night. The flight left at 9pm. They fell asleep about two hours into the flight and woke up back in Dallas. Emily picked them up at the airport and asked about their flight.

"Bianca, how are you doing?" Emily asked like a mom would.

"I'm doing better," Bianca replied, "It turns out my mom's second cousins live here, in Dallas. I'm going to start living with them when the exchange program ends in March."

"That's great, Bianca!"

"Yeah," Eliot said, "and Bianca and I will still be in the same school."

"That's awesome, you guys," Emily said.

They got back to the house pretty late and went to bed without unpacking. School wasn't very fun the next day.

"Bianca," another girl asked her in the hall, "is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"You and Eliot ran off and eloped?"

"What? NO! Who told you that?"

"Jeromy said—,"

"That explains it…please tell people it isn't true. Eliot and I aren't even together; we're just friends."

In history, Jeromy walked passed Bianca and asked, "How's your husband, Bi?"

"Go to hell, Jeromy! My parents died and I had to go to Italy for their funeral, and you start a rumor because Eliot scared you. I've started to tell people it's not true already."

"Watch it, Bianca, Eliot isn't here to save you this time."

"He doesn't need to save me, I'm perfectly capable of defending myself!"

He just laughed and walked to his seat before Mr. Williams walked into the room.

After class, Mr. Williams asked Bianca to see him after school.

Bianca found Eliot in the hall before Italian class, "Did you hear what Jeromy told everyone?!"

"Yes…I'm going to kill him."

"He didn't even react when I told him the real reason we were gone!" she started to tear up, "What did I _do_ to him, Eliot?"

"He's just an ass, Bi, there's no other reason. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm gonna fix this."

"Eliot," Bianca started.

"What?"

"Non fai niente di stupido, per favore."

"I won't."

"I'm serious, Eliot, don't get yourself kicked off the football team or expelled or anything."

"Football season is over, Bi," he joked.

"Then just don't get expelled or suspended, OK?"

"Fine," he fake pouted.

Bianca rolled her eyes as they walked into class.

Eliot kept an eye on Bianca and Jeromy in gym class. After gym, Bianca went to see Mr. Williams.

"Hello, Bianca, have a seat," he said as she entered the classroom.

"Am I in trouble, Mr. Williams?"

"No, not at all."

"OK, so why did you want to see me?"

"I'm your 'mother's cousin'," he winked as he placed the sir quotes.

"Oh, you're in the Priory, you're the one Eric told me about."

"Yes, and that's why this is the school you were placed in for the exchange program. They knew you would be in my class so I could look after you."

"I guess that's why there's a fleur-de-lis on your bowtie? It's cool by the way."

"You noticed that? Very good, Bianca!"

"Yeah, it was on the letter that my mother left me."

"I see. I wanted to make sure you were OK; you seemed upset in class today."

"I'm fine," Bianca sighed, "Someone started a rumor that Eliot and I ran away and eloped and it isn't true. We weren't here because we were at my parents' funeral! I just don't understand how someone could do that."

"Who was it?"

"It doesn't matter. I should go; Eliot is waiting for me to walk home."

"OK, Bianca, I'll see you tomorrow in class."

"Oh, Mr. Williams, thank you for everything you're doing for me."

"Bianca, it is an honor to serve the brotherhood, and the descendant of Mary Magdalene."

She left the classroom and Eliot was waiting down the hall, "What was that about?" he asked her.

"Nothing important, just making sure I didn't need any notes I missed, he also wanted to make sure I was OK," she lied.

"Oh, that was nice of him."

"Yeah, I love his class too. History is so fascinating to me, anyway. I'm going to take his class next year, I think."

"I think I will, too, everyone says he's a great teacher."

"He really is," Bianca said, "and it turns out he's my mom's cousin, the one I'm going to be staying with."

"Really?

"Yeah," she said.

"That's cool!"

They got back to the house and did their homework. Nothing interesting happened for the rest of the night. Bianca went to bed early. _When should I tell him? Probably soon. What if he doesn't believe me? I guess I could just show him the letter. Bianca you're talking to yourself again. I know._

 **A/N: Hey everyone, not sure if I clarified this, but Bianca and Eliot are in their junior year of high school. Just wanted to address a review I received about an eidetic memory not being equivalent to intelligence. I'm completely aware of that, but Bianca credits her memory with some of her intelligence.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

The next few months went by really fast. Before Bianca knew it she was moving in with Mr. Williams and his wife. Bianca had decided to wait a while before telling Eliot about the letter and the Priory. She thought it would be best to wait until they were adults.

Bianca thought it was hilarious that everyone thought she and Eliot were in love. Whenever someone asked her about it she replied, "Eliot and I are best friends. We could never be in love!" she laughed. Eliot felt the same way about Bianca. He laughed when people called her his girlfriend and brushed it off.

"Hey, Eliot, maybe we'll win cutest couple in the yearbook," Bianca joked.

"That would be hilarious!" he laughed.

Bianca maintained her nearly perfect GPA throughout the end of junior year. Once September came, the college search started. She applied to schools all over the country, once Mr. Williams (who insisted that Bianca call him Joe when they weren't in school) checked to make sure there were Priory members in the area. She'd know by January which ones she'd been accepted to. She decided to major in history. It had always been her favorite subject and with a PhD she could teach at a college level.

Meanwhile, she was on the yearbook staff, in the Italian Club, and the president of the history club. She was the biggest history nerd she knew.

Jeromy had left Bianca alone after Eliot had basically threatened to end his life if he ever bothered her again. So she didn't think anything of it when their teammate, Brian, asked her out on a date in October. Brian and Bianca were in the same math class. After class one day he waited outside the classroom for her.

"Hey, Bi," he called.

"What's up, Brian?" she asked.

"Well," he said nervously, "I was wondering if you had a date for the Halloween dance tonight."

"I don't."

"Would you like to go with me?"

"Yeah, I'd love to go with you, Brian."

"OK, I'll pick you up at 7:30?"

"That sounds good to me."

"Wonderful! I'll see you then."

When Bianca got home from school that day, Joe asked her if she was going to the dance.

"I am," she said, "Brian asked me to go with him."

"Brian? Isn't he friends with Jeromy and Cara?" Joe asked concerned.

"Yeah, but he's friends with Eliot too. Plus, Jeromy hasn't bothered me since like February. It'll be fine."

"OK, what are you dressing up as?"

"One of the vampires from Anne Rice's books."

"Really? Which one? I love those books!"

"I don't know what to call it. When I bought the costume, it was supposed to be Akasha, but it kind of looks more like something Pandora would wear."

"Call it whatever you want, Bianca!" Joe laughed, "No one is going to get the reference anyway."

"Eliot will! I made him read the books. He's going as Louis."

"You and Eliot would make a great couple."

"Everyone says that, but we're just friends! OH! I'll ask him which one it looks like."

She ran up to her room and changed into the costume. It was a black dress with thick straps like a tank top. It had a gold and black belt and a gold shawl. It was labeled "queen of the Nile" so it looked like a mixture of Egyptian and Greek. Akasha was Egyptian…Pandora was Greek. Bianca just couldn't put her finger on which one it looked more like.

She went down the street to Eliot's house and knocked on the door. Eliot answered.

"Pandora or Akasha?" Bianca asked before even saying hello.

"What?"

"Does this costume look more like Pandora or Akasha?!"

"Oh…I don't know…ummm," he thought for a moment, "Pandora."

"You think so?"

"Yeah…it looks more Greek than Egyptian. Besides, Akasha and Enkil were really early Egypt and Pandora was in that Isis cult for a while."

"Yeah, I was thinking Pandora too, thanks!"

"Wait!" he called after her.

"What?"

"Why did you need to know which one you look like? No one is going to get it."

"Because, Eliot, when someone asks 'Bianca what are you dressed as?' I can say, 'Pandora from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles' instead of just a vampire."

"Nerd."

"Don't you dare call me a nerd; you're going as Louis! He's the whiniest vampire!"

"And the prettiest…don't forget prettiest."

"Lestat would disagree."

Eliot laughed because Bianca was right.

She went back home and walked in the door.

"So, what's the verdict?" Joe asked.

"Pandora."

"Thought so."

"I have to finish getting ready; Brian is picking me up at 7:30."

7:30 came and Brian was right on time. They went to the dance and had a great time with their friends. Bianca even got some great pictures for the yearbook.

After Brian drove Bianca home, he kissed her goodnight and tried to do a little more than that. Bianca pushed him away.

"What's wrong, Bi?" he asked her.

"I don't want to do anything else."

"Why not?"

"I just don't."

"Is it because you're in love with Eliot?"

"What? No! This is our first date and I'm not that kind of girl!"

"Fine. I'll see you in class Monday. Goodnight, Bianca."

When Bianca got inside, Joe asked her how the dance was and if she'd had fun. She said it was fun and she had a good time, leaving out what happened in the car.

Monday morning, Bianca went to school. She knew something was off from the beginning of first period. Everyone got quiet when she walked into the room for English class. The other students were looking at her and whispering, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She out her head down and tried to look around the room at the same time. _Che cosa ho fatto?_ The bell rang after class and the others kept staring at Bianca in the hallway. Cara smirked as Bianca passed by. Jeromy did the same. _Oh, no. What did they do?_

Bianca walked to history with what felt like the whole school watching her. Joe was her teacher for that class. For those 42 minutes she wasn't concerned with the other students. She was too busy scribbling notes into her notebook about history. American history fascinated Bianca; it was her favorite subject. Bianca didn't really have to take notes with her memory, but she liked it…it felt like studying in class kind of.

After the bell rang and class ended, she snapped out of her trance. She realized that everyone was staring at her again. Eliot was in her next class, culinary arts. He was waiting outside the door for her.

"Don't go in there, Bi," he told her as she walked up to the room.

"Perche'?" she asked nervously.

"Per favore, Bianca, fidati di me. Non vuoi vedere ciò che è là."

"Eliot, dimmi."

He didn't say anything. She nudged him out of the way and walked into the classroom. He was right. She didn't want to see what was in there. Her school picture was hanging up on the white board with one word written across the picture. "Slut".

Bianca didn't say anything to the students that were quietly laughing to themselves. She turned around with tears in her eyes. Eliot tried to stop her but she pushed passed him as she ran back to Joe's classroom. Eliot ran after her.

Joe had third period off and used it to grade quizzes and tests and essays. He was shocked when Bianca came running into his classroom in tears followed by Eliot calling her name and begging her to talk to him.

"What happened, Bianca?" he asked her. She couldn't respond so Eliot did. He told Joe what happened and he had no idea who would have done it.

"What about Jeromy?" Joe asked, "I know y'all had problems last year."

"He wouldn't have messed with Bianca, Mr. Williams…trust me," Eliot said, recalling the time he threatened Jeromy's life. Bianca was beginning to calm down.

"They both smirked at me while I was walking down the hall today," she said. She was still trying to catch her breath after crying, "They might not have done it…but I can guarantee they arranged it."

"Who else would have done it? Who would have done it for them?" Joe asked.

"Bianca," Eliot said, "Brian is friends with Jeromy."

"Do you really think—," she started. Then she realized. He didn't really want to do anything in the car. He wanted an excuse to start a rumor. He just didn't want to lie about it.

"What is it, Bi?" Joe asked. She didn't respond.

"Bi…are you OK?" Eliot asked.

"I'm fine. It was Brian," she finally said.

"Are you sure?" Joe asked.

"Yeah. I'm positive."

"How do you know, Bianca?" Eliot asked her. She didn't want to tell him. Not in front of Joe. Not at all, really. She looked down at her feet and said nothing.

"Bianca what happened?" Eliot asked. He sounded angry. He wasn't angry at her. He was angry at Brian and it was getting worse imagining what he could have done to his best friend to make her afraid to tell him. His fists were clenched and he tried not to sound angry but it didn't work.

"Can I talk to you alone, Eliot?" Bianca asked him.

"Sure," he said following her down the hall towards the empty history office.

Once they got there Bianca started talking, "We were in his car and he kissed me. He didn't stop until I pushed him away. He asked why I stopped…if it was because I'm in love with you. I told him I just didn't want to go any farther on our first date. Then he got mad and just said, 'Fine, I'll see you in class Monday, Goodnight, Bianca," and drove away."

"I'm going to destroy him!" Eliot shouted.

"Eliot, calm down, please," she begged him.

"NO! I won't calm down, Bianca!" he yelled, "First he tries to do God knows what to you, then he starts a rumor about you for Jeromy. NO! You don't deserve to put up with this shit, Bi."

"Eliot—," she started. Before she could finish her sentence, he knocked over a stack of textbooks and stormed out of the room, leaving Bianca standing there scared of what he was going to do.

Eliot went back to Joe's classroom and told him what happened before Bianca got back. He told Joe that Bianca didn't want to talk about it anymore. They had missed two classes. Bianca went through the rest of the day as best she could.

After school, Eliot found Brian. Brian didn't know what hit him. All of a sudden he was pinned against a wall and couldn't escape.

"What the hell, man?" Eliot yelled at him.

"Bro, what are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" 

"No I don't," he lied.

"Bianca." 

"What about her?"

"I know what you did. You tried to force yourself on her then started a rumor about her. The whole school is calling her a slut and you know she isn't one."

"I did not!"

"I know you did, and I know that Jeromy and Cara put you up to it."

"Why do you even care?" 

"Bianca is my best friend. You will never find someone as trusting or kind as Bianca, and you betrayed that trust. Not only did you betray that trust, but you hurt her. She has barely stopped crying all day."

"Not my problem, dude."

"Yes…your problem!" he yelled as he pushed him into the wall harder.

"Calm down!"

"NO! You tell everyone that you lied about Bianca. You tell them the truth or I swear I will make you suffer!"

"Fine—fine, I'll do it, just let me go, Eliot."

Eliot released him. He called Bianca later that night.

"Bi? It's Eliot." He said.

"What is it, Eliot?" she asked nervously.

"This whole thing will be over by tomorrow."

"What did you do?"

"Don't worry about it, Bianca; everything is going to be back to normal before first period."

"Che hai fatto, Eliot?"

"Bianca, tutto sara' OK. Non e' importa che ho fatto."

"Sicuro?"

"Si, non ti preoccupato."

"OK, goodnight, Eliot."

"Goodnight, Bi."

Hearing the relief in Bianca's voice gave Eliot such satisfaction. As he was lying awake he thought for just a minute _Maybe I do love her._


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry this took so long, but I started 2 new fics any Les Miserables fans should check them out.**

 **Chapter 8:**

The next day, Bianca walked into first period and was "greeted" by Jeromy at the door.

"What's up, little whore?" he mocked.

"Go to hell!" Bianca shot back.

She walked to her seat and sat down trying her best to ignore the snickering of her classmates. The morning announcements started immediately after the bell rang, as they did every day. Only this morning, it was not the student council president and vice president speaking their normal good mornings, it was Brian.

"Hey everyone, it's Brian Delancey," the whole room became quiet, "I'm sure y'all know Bianca Giordano and the recent rumor spreading around the school about her," all eyes turned towards the mortified Bianca, "I started the rumor, and I made it up. None of it's true. Jeromy and Cara, put me up to it, and I'm sorry, Bi."

The loudspeaker went off. Everyone was still staring at Bianca. She would have paid to see the look on Jeromy's face after hearing the announcement. _Che ha fatto Eliot?_

She went through first and second period with what felt like the whole school watching her. Joe didn't bring up the announcement to her.

Eliot and Bianca were in the same cooking group third period and none of the others in their group could speak Italian.

"Eliot," Bianca asked, "Che hai fatto?"

"Ti ho detto, Bianca, non ho fatto niente d'importanza," he replied.

"Lo so che non sia vero, Eliot. Non sono stupida."

"Non ti preoccupare, Bi, non ho fatto niente di stupido."

"Puoi promettermi?"

"Si, te lo prometto che non ho fatto niente di stupido. Sei felice adesso?"

"Si," Bianca sighed.

Bianca knew Eliot wouldn't have lied to her about it, so she dropped it. He couldn't have gotten away with anything that bad.

A few months later, Bianca sat in her bedroom staring at the envelope on her desk in front of her. She could barely breathe as she opened it. This was it, her dream school, Harvard University. The next three seconds could leave Bianca either in tears of pain or screaming with joy. She unfolded the letter, her hands shaking and held her breath as she read the first sentence.

"Dio mio," she whispered to herself. She repeated it louder and louder until she was almost shouting to herself.

Joe ran up the stairs, "Bianca, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I got a full scholarship to Harvard!" she yelled.

"Congratulations, Bianca!"

"I can't believe this…I can't believe this!" 

The next day at school, Bianca walked up to Eliot, beaming.

"I have to tell you something," she said.

"I have to tell you something, too," he replied, "but you go first." He didn't look as thrilled as Bianca.

"I got into Harvard and they're giving me a full scholarship!"

"That's great, Bi! I knew you'd get in!"

"What did you want to tell me, Eliot?"

He paused, she wasn't going to be happy, "After graduation, I'm joining the military."

"What?" she asked.

"After graduation I'm—,"

"No, I heard you, but why?"

"I want to serve and if I do they'll pay for me to go to college when I'm done."

Bianca stared at him for a minute, shocked, "What branch?" she finally asked.

"I'm going to try to work my way into Black Ops."

"Isn't that really dangerous, El?"

"Yeah, but I'll be fine, Bi, you know me."

"But…but what if you aren't fine?" she asked almost in tears.

"Hey, Bi, it's OK. I'm not even leaving for months. You have nothing to worry about. I can take care of myself. I promise I'll be fine. OK?"

Bianca nodded, "Yeah, OK," she smiled. He was right. He had to be.

TIME SKIP!

June meant two things in Dallas, Texas: Graduation and Prom.

Bianca was only worried about one of them and it wasn't graduation. Once June started, Prom was only 3 weeks away and she didn't have a dress or a date. No one went to Prom without a date so Bianca was doomed to stay home (or so she thought). She decided to forget about it and stop worrying. Worrying never helped anything anyway.

A few days later, her culinary class was given a sugar cookie recipe to bake. Bianca mixed the dough and gave them to another group member to put in the oven. Eliot was in charge of decorating/garnishing that week, so Bianca got started on the dishes.

When she was about half way through, Eliot called her over, "Hey Bi, do these look good to you?"

Bianca walked over and looked at the cookies. Each cookie was decorated with a different letter spelling out "Will you go to Prom with me? –E."

Bianca smiled and hugged Eliot, "Yes, I'll go to Prom with you!"

"Do you have time to get a dress?" he asked.

"I don't need to, I'll make one."

"You can do that?"

"Of course I can, my mom taught me."

After school she went to the fabric store to pick out material. She walked around the store for hours before settling on light pink. She also picked up sheer fabric in the same color for the cap sleeves she planned on sewing into it and material to make flowers for it as well.

She worked all week long on the dress, trying it on and making adjustments. When the time came to sew the flowers she thought she was going to lose her mind. The day after the flowers she came to school with Band-Aids on almost every finger.

"What happened to you?" Eliot asked.

Bianca glared back at him, "Little fabric flowers happened."

"What?"

"I was sewing the flowers onto my dress and stabbed myself at least fifteen times."

Eliot laughed.

"Non e' buffo!" she yelled at him.

"Sei giusta, mi dispiace," he apologized trying his hardest not to continue laughing.

The dress went all the way down to the floor and had a scooped neckline with some beading around the waist. The little cap sleeves covered about three fourths of her shoulders and the back was open. The little flowers went from her sleeves into the sheer fabric that formed the opening in the back of the dress.

Eliot arrived at the house to meet the limo and Bianca at around 6:30. He gave her the corsage (pink magnolias, Bianca's favorite), and told her how beautiful she looked.

"Let's just hope we don't get voter King and Queen and get pigs' blood dumped on us," Bianca laughed although she was kind of concerned about it. That book _Carrie_ really had her worried. In hindsight, she realized it was a bad idea to read in the week leading up to Prom.

"Yeah," Eliot said, "don't worry everyone is going to vote for Cara and Jeromy."

They got to Prom at 7:00 exactly. All the girls loved Bianca's dress.

"Where'd you get it" they all asked.

"I made it," she replied, "I didn't have time to buy one and have it altered so I had to make it myself."

They were shocked. Cara wasn't happy at all; they should have been talking about her dress as far as she was concerned.

Bianca got nervous as they were about to announce Pro King and Queen. Eliot was right, it was Jeromy and Cara. _Grazie Dio_ , Bianca thought.

Prom was a great experience for Bianca. She was so happy to have spent the evening with her best friend instead of staying at home wondering what might have been.

A few weeks later, the yearbooks were distributed. Bianca turned to the superlatives page because no one on the yearbook committee would let her look at it while they were working on it. She looked at it and laughed out loud.

" _CUTEST COUPLE: Bianca Giordano and Eliot Spencer"_

She ran up to Eliot in the hallway, "Did you see the superlatives page?"

"Yes! Can you believe it? We aren't even a couple!" he laughed.

The bell rang and the two had to go to their next class. In the hallway after class, Cara walked up to Bianca and without a word slapped her across the face.

"You bitch!" she yelled.

 _Che diavolo,_ "What the hell was that for?" Bianca asked, in shock.

"Jeromy and I were supposed to win cutest couple not you and Spencer! You're not even a couple!"

"Listen, Cara, I don't control who wins yearbook superlatives, so you need to back off."

"Don't tell me what to do, bitch!" Cara said as she pushed Bianca backwards into a locker.

Bianca hit her head on the locker and could have sworn she saw something or someone behind Cara. She fell to the ground and got back up and walked away.

"I'm not done with you," Cara whispered behind her. She walked quickly up behind Bianca and was about to push her again, when Bianca took a slight step to her left causing Cara to miss and face-plant in front of her. _Come l'ho fatto?_ Bianca thought _How'd I do that?_


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

After school, Eliot and Bianca went to a little café and had coffee, as they usually did when Eliot didn't have football practice and Bianca didn't have any club meetings.

"I can't believe Cara did that to you," Eliot said after Bianca told him about their encounter in the hallway.

Bianca shrugged, "It's no big deal. I'm more concerned about how I dodged her without even seeing her."

"Maybe you heard something and don't remember it," Eliot suggested.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Bianca agreed, "So…when do you leave?"

"Two weeks after graduation," Eliot answered, "But don't worry; I'll be back before you know it. We'll see each other over winter break again."

"You know I can't help worrying, Eliot. It's what I do. You're sure you'll be back for Christmas though?"

"I am positive! What about you? When are you leaving for Harvard Miss Smarty-pants?"

"I think it's the last week of August, but it might be the week before that. Honestly, I'm kind of nervous."

"You shouldn't be! You're so smart; you'll be fine."

"I hope so," she sighed.

Graduation was the week after that, and Eliot's departure date followed more quickly than they thought it would.

Bianca arrived at his house that morning before he got into the car to leave. He saw her and ran over to say goodbye. They hugged and Bianca cried (Eliot might have cried too, but he would never admit it if someone asked him).

"Don't cry, Bi," he said, "We'll see each other again. I'm not moving to the other side of the world."

"What if I don't see you again though?" Bianca asked.

"Don't say that, it will never happen. Let's make a deal, shall we?" Eliot asked.

"What kind of deal?"

"After I'm done in the army and you're done with school, the two of us are going to share an apartment together. We know we can cohabitate and I think it'll be fun. Deal?"

"Deal," Bianca agreed, smiling.

The months passed and Eliot even came home early to surprise Bianca at school. The two spent most of the break hanging out together and telling stories about what had happened in the months they were apart. They wrote letters to each other while they were apart throughout the years. After seven years, Bianca was done with school, and Eliot had left the military, having been part of some top secret force that even Bianca didn't know about. The last letter Eliot received from Bianca before he returned home for good was something Eliot wasn't prepared for in the least.

" _Dear Eliot,_

 _There is something I haven't told you, and I probably should have a long time ago. When we were in Italy for my parents' funeral, I learned something about my family and was told that I could share that information with one person, only. I chose you back then, but I decided to wait until we were older because I didn't even really understand it then. I understand it a lot more now, and I think it's time you knew. I'll tell you face-to-face when we see each other again._

 _Love,_

 _Bianca"_

After Eliot read the letter, he couldn't stop wondering what Bianca could have been talking about. He thought he knew all there was to know about her, but he was about to learn how wrong he was.

He was at Bianca's graduation from Harvard.

After the ceremony, Eliot ran over to hug Bianca and congratulate her.

"Bi!" he shouted from the other side of the field.

Bianca looked around to find the source of the sound and finally found Eliot in the crowd, "Eliot," she said running over to meet him, "How are you?"

"I'm just fine. Congratulations, Bi! Come stai?"

"Bene," she replied.

"Dobbiamo parlare della lettura…" he started.

"Si, lo so. Non possiamo adesso, parleremo un po' piu' tardi."

"Va bene."

Once they were alone, Bianca began to explain everything to him.

"Well, Eliot," she began, "It's about my family. My mother's maiden name was Plantard."

"OK, but what does that mean?" Eliot asked.

"I'm getting to that. Our family is one of the two families that can allegedly be traced back to—you might want to sit down," she warned.

"Alright," Eliot said, becoming nervous.

"Well, my mom wrote me a letter and in it she says our family can be traced back to Jesus and Mary Magdalene. She said that our family is protected by a secret society called the Priory of Sion. The Priory protects us from another society called the Council of Shadows."

"You're kidding right?"

"I wish I were kidding. My parents were murdered…it wasn't an accident. Mr. Williams isn't my mother's cousin; he's a member of the Priory and they want you to join, too. I know this seems crazy…I thought the same thing after I read the letter."

"You're damn right it sounds crazy!" he yelled, "Do you honestly expect me to believe this?" 

"Here," she said handing him the letter, "You know that's not my handwriting."

Eliot read the letter, "Oh my god."

"I know it's a lot to take in, Eliot, but I wouldn't lie to you about this. You know I wouldn't lie to you about this. It's crazy and almost too weird to believe, but I think it's true. There wouldn't be a society dedicated to protect my family if it were a lie."

"I believe you," Eliot said after a long period of silence, "I'll join the Priory, too, if you need me to."

"Oh, Eliot, thank you! I'm sorry I didn't tell you when we were younger, but I thought it would be better to wait."

"I understand, Bianca. I'm sorry I doubted you, it was just…I don't know…it just seemed kind of…far-fetched at first, but with the letter…I believe it now."

"I know it's weird and it's seems impossible, but it somehow gets less weird the longer you know about it."

"I think it's time we start apartment hunting don't you?"

"You still want to live together after I dumped all of this on you?"

"Of course I do, Bianca this doesn't change anything except that now I'll be protecting you."

"Are you sure, Eliot?"

"I'm positive, and I can't wait to start. How do I join this Priory thing?"

"Priory of Sion," she corrected, "Give Joe a call and tell him that I told you. He'll take it from there."

A few months later, Eliot was a part of the Priory and he and Bianca were living together. Everyone they met still thought they were a couple, and they still laughed every time someone made the mistake.

About a year passed, and Bianca and Eliot started working together on retrieval jobs. Eliot would use his training to beat their opponents physically, while Bianca would use her knowledge to research possible locations of artifacts and lost paintings. She also used her linguistic skills to translate documents that led to their discoveries. What they did wasn't exactly legal, but they never got caught.

One night, Eliot and Bianca got a phone call from someone they had never even met.

As the phone rang, Eliot yelled, "I'll get it!" He picked up the phone, "Hello?"

The voice on the other side said, "Hello, Eliot Spencer and Bianca Giordano?"

"Yes, this is Eliot," he replied.

"Good, this is Nathan Ford, and do I have a proposition for you!"


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry for the wait between chapters!**

 **Chapter 10:**

"Nathan Ford from the insurance company?" Eliot asked, "How'd you get this number?"

Bianca poked her head out from the kitchen, "Nathan Ford?" she whispered. She recognized his name; he'd chased them on their...retrieval jobs quite a few times. She asked, "Che vuole lui?"

Eliot placed his hand over the receiver, "Non lo so, un minuto."

Bianca shrugged and went back to the kitchen. She made a move to add something to Eliot's pasta sauce that was cooking on the stove.

As if on cue, she heard Eliot in the living room, "Hold on one second," he said into the phone before yelling into the kitchen, "Bianca, you better not touch that sauce!" He paused for a second, "Sorry, what were you saying?"

Bianca laughed quietly to herself. She stood in the doorway listening in on Eliot's part of the phone call.

"No…We already turned down the job…Bianca and I work alone…you know what I mean, just the two of us…No we aren't a couple, Ford…How much?...Alright…Yeah, I'll discuss it with Bianca…I'll call you back in under an hour…bye," Eliot hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Bianca asked, "Did he get tired of chasing us and decide to just call and ask us to give ourselves up quietly?" she smirked.

"Remember that job we turned down about the airplane designs?" Eliot asked.

"Si," Bianca replied, "Now Nathan Ford thinks we took it?"

"No, he actually wants us to take it. The payment went from $150 thousand each to $300 thousand each, and they need a couple more people," Eliot said.

"Really? Do you think we should take it?" Bianca asked.

"I don't know. What do you think?" he replied.

"For double the original payment…let's take it," Bianca said.

"We'd have to work with a few other people," Eliot warned.

"For that much, it's worth the unwanted accomplices," Bianca nodded.

"I'll call Ford back, then," Eliot smiled as he went to find the phone.

After a few minutes, Bianca heard that Eliot was still searching for the phone.

"It's on the coffee table," she called.

"I knew that," he lied.

"Don't lie to me, Eliot," Bianca said.

Eliot chuckled to himself as he dialed the phone number. "Ford," he said after a moment, "we're in."

"Who else is on this job?" Bianca asked Eliot as they drove to the location.

"Nathan Ford is running it, but you already knew that," Eliot started, "Let's see there's a hacker by the name of Alec Hardison; apparently he's one of the best in the business."

"Can't be, I've never heard of him, and we both know I've done my fair share of hacking," Bianca said, "What I do might not be very advanced, but I get to know the more prominent hackers."

"Then there's Parker, the thief," Eliot continued.

Bianca stared at him for a second, "Parker," she gasped, "Ma lei e' pazza!"

"Lo so," Eliot agreed.

The theft went surprisingly well for five people who'd never worked together before. There were a few minor setbacks, however. The guards did their rounds an hour early to watch the playoffs (which further confirmed Bianca's suspicions that sports were the root of all the evil in the world) but Eliot was able to…handle the situation.

Once they had the files, the guards had turned on the alarms, making it impossible for them to get out the same way they got in.

"Every man for himself," Eliot said, "Come on, Bi, let's go."

Bianca was about to follow him when Hardison made the point that he had the merchandise.

"I've memorized the floor plan, I know every single way possible out of this building and you, Hardison, are not pointed at any of them," Bianca said.

"Well, I'm the one with an exit," Parker chimed in.

Nate interrupted their argument, "And I'm the one with the plans."

"Well then," Bianca said, "What's the plan, Ford?"

"We'll use the burn scam," Nate told them.

"So what is this, plan B?" Hardison asked sarcastically as they got into the elevator.

"No," Ford replied, "it's more like plan G."

"How many plans did you have?" Bianca asked.

"Yeah, is there like a plan M?" Hardison added, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah," Nate said, "Hardison dies in plan M."

Bianca couldn't tell if he was serious or not.

Eliot smiled, "I like plan M." Bianca shoved his shoulder gently. He and Hardison had been bickering all night.

The burn scam was actually quite easy to pull off. They simply dressed Parker as a burn victim. Eliot and Bianca played her loving brother and sister. Hardison was her lawyer. They helped her out of the elevator as she walked with fake braces on her legs and latex on her face.

As a guard looked at Parker, Eliot yelled at him for staring.

"It's ok, Tom," Parker said, playing the role perfectly.

"No," Hardison said, "it's not."

"Come on, sis," Bianca fake comforted, "Don't let him bother you."

Once they were out of the guard's line of vision, they got into the car with Nate and drove away.

As the dawn was beginning to break over the city, they stood outside waiting for Hardison to transfer the files from his computer to that of their client, Victor Dubenich.

They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. All of the money would be in their accounts by morning.

Eliot and Bianca went back home to their apartment. It was about a thirty minute drive from the job site. As they walked through their front door, Bianca noticed the sky growing lighter and lighter.

Bianca headed straight for the kitchen, "Vuoi un café?" she asked Eliot.

Eliot shook his head, "No, provero' a dormire per un po'," he walked into his bedroom before calling over his shoulder, "Svegliatemi in un'ora."

"Va bene," Bianca said.

She was going to give him an extra fifteen minutes, but she checked their accounts and there was no payment.

"Eliot," she said as she rushed into his room and shook his shoulder.

"Jesus, Bi, give me five more minutes," Eliot complained tiredly.

"There's no payment in our accounts," she said.

His eyes shot open, "What? Let me see," Bianca could see the anger rising in him.

"Eliot, I checked three times, the balance hasn't changed," Bianca explained.

"I'll take care of this," he said, "I'm calling Dubenich."

Eliot stepped out into the garage to talk; he knew Bianca didn't like to hear him yell.

Bianca waited for him to reenter the apartment, "So…?" she asked.

"We need to go meet him somewhere to straighten this out, let's go. He's texting me the address," Eliot replied taking his keys off the counter.

"Can I drive?" Bianca asked already knowing the answer.

"No," Eliot said.

"Why not?" Bianca pouted.

Eliot smirked, "Because you drive like an Italian."

Bianca rolled her eyes and got into the passenger's seat. It took them about forty five minutes to get to the parking garage where Victor Dubenich wanted them to meet. When they walked in, Hardison was already there.

"You," Eliot said stalking over to Hardison, "You stole the files, didn't you? This is all your fault!"

Bianca knew the look on Eliot's face, "Eliot, don't jump to conclusions."

As they approached Hardison, he pulled out a gun and pointed it towards Eliot's chest. Eliot maintained his composure; he'd been in this kind of situation before.

Bianca needed to use all of her strength not to show how panicked she was as Eliot and Hardison argued. She waited for a break in the conversation.

"Hey, Hardison," she said. It distracted him from the situation long enough for her to make a move. She grabbed Hardison's arm and twisted it just enough so it didn't break, but she could get the gun out of his hand easily.

Eliot applauded, "Brilliant, Bianca…absolutely brilliant, just like I taught you! Oh, and look you didn't even break his arm."

Bianca smiled, "I learned from the best."

Nathan Ford arrived next, "Well done, Miss Giordano. You're unarmed Eliot?"

"I don't like guns," Eliot growled in response.

Parker entered the garage pointing holding a gun, "I didn't get paid. That makes me hurt in my special…angry place."

"None of us got paid, Parker, that's why we're here," Bianca said scowling at the others.

"I get it guys," Ford said, "You didn't get paid and now…and now you're pissed." Ford began laughing, "Dubenich knew the only way to get all of us in the same place was not to pay us."

They all looked at each other and realized almost at the same moment that Victor Dubenich was trying to kill them.

"Run," Eliot said, "Come on, Bi!"

They all took off towards the exit of the garage. Eliot grabbed Bianca's hand pulling her faster.

"You should've stayed home," he whispered to her as they ran.

"We both know I wouldn't have done that, but we can talk about that later when we're not dead," she panted as they approached the exit.

Ford opened the door and they almost made it far enough away from the building before the explosion.

Bianca felt herself being forced forward onto the ground and had just enough time to close her eyes before everything went black.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

When Bianca woke up, hours later, she was handcuffed to a hospital bed. She gasped and started pulling at her wrist, frantically, "Eliot!" she called.

"Bianca, I'm right here," Eliot said to calm her down. He was sitting across the room cuffed to a chair, and Nathan was in the bed next to Bianca's.

"What…what happened?" Bianca asked, relaxing slightly.

"The cops showed up right as we were coming to, you were still out," Eliot said, "Mi hai spaventato a morte, non farlo di nuovo."

"Mi dispiace," Bianca laughed weakly.

"How are we getting out of here, Ford?" Eliot asked.

"Let me think a second," Nathan said.

"Guys?" Parker asked through the vents, "I can get out by myself, and I don't trust any of you."

"Trust _me_ , Parker," Nate said, "Just me. Do you trust _me_?"

"Yeah…" she muttered.

"I need a phone, Parker," Nate said.

Bianca had already pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and begun picking the lock on the handcuffs, as Nate stared at her in shock. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," Nate shook his head.

Bianca got the cuffs off and went to unlock Eliot's.

Nate cleared his throat as Bianca unlocked Eliot's before his.

Bianca looked over at him, "If your plan goes south, I'm looking after myself and my partner before any of you lot."

Eliot smirked over at Nathan, "We look out for each other first, that's just how we work."

Bianca finished picking the handcuffs, "Done."

Eliot stood and hugged her, "I meant that, Bi, don't you scare me like that again," he whispered.

"I won't," Bi whispered back. She went and unlocked Nathan as well, "There, everyone happy now?"

"Hardison and Parker are out in there," Nate said, "Now we wait for my plan to fall into place and walk out."

"You'd better hope this works, Ford, or y'all are on your own," Eliot nearly growled.

"It'll work," Nate gave him a look.

An hour or so later, Nathan was proven correct.

Haridson was driving them away.

"Now what, Ford?" Bianca asked.

"We run," Parker answered for him.

They pulled up to Hardison's place where he had identities made up for each of them along with plane tickets to four different cities.

"Sarah-Jane and John Smith?" Bianca asked, "I didn't know I was in the presence of a fellow Whovian."

Hardison winked, "That's how I do, age of the geek."

Eliot rolled his eyes earning him an elbow in the side from Bianca, "Play nice, Eliot."

"So, you're really running?" Ford asked.

"We have to," Parker sighed.

"Or we could get him back," Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"What's in it for us?" Eliot asked.

"Revenge, and if all goes as planned, a lot of money," Ford told him.

"Mi piace la vendetta," Bianca smirked.

"What's in it for me?" Parker asked.

"A lot of money, and if all goes as planned, revenge," Ford grinned.

"I was just going to send a thousand or so porn magazines to his house, but this is way better," Hardison said, "I'm in."

"Then we need Sophie," Nate smiled walking away.

"Wh-What's a Sophie?" Eliot asked, clearly confused.

"Non lo so," Bianca shrugged.

"Well, where are we goin?" He asked.

"Would you just come on?" Bianca sighed pulling him out to the car.

About fifteen minutes later they arrived at a small theater. Inside, the actors were in the middle of a performance of Macbeth. The five of them stood at the back of the theater as the actress on stage attempted to recite Lady Macbeth's soliloquy.

"Oh god…she's terrible," Bianca whispered to Eliot.

"That's Sophie?" Eliot asked.

"Don't worry, this isn't her stage," Nate assured them all.

"What does that even mean?" Bianca grumbled.

"You'll see," Nate laughed softly.

"I hope for our sake you're right Mr. Ford," Bianca sighed.

"Trust me," Nate told her.

"Not yet," Bianca replied, "My trust is something that needs to be earned, anf that is a feat that few in my life have accomplished."

Nate looked concerned for her for a moment, but said nothing as he noticed Bianca had returned her attention to the stage.

-time jump-

It was months later, and Elliot and Bianca had officially joined up with the others: Hardison, Parker, Sophie, and Nate. They had just taken a case in which someone's recently engaged sister and her fiancé went missing during the wedding-planning process. The police in the town were doing nothing about the situation, and it seemed they were under direct order from someone to keep it that way. The team figured out that the chief of police in the town had a brother who operated an unusually lucrative flower shop across the street from the police station, so there they went trying to get as much information as they could.

"Perchè dobbiamo rappresentare i fidanzati?" Bianca grumbled under her breath.

"Because you two look like an engaged couple, Bianca, and, for the ten millionth time, I speak Italian," Sophie laughed.

Elliot took her hand, "Let's get this over with, Bi."

Bianca nodded and went with Elliot into the building, a florist that was clearly a front for _something_ , but none of them could figure out what. Hardison had tried to get information about any strange accounts or online money exchanges, but it seemed anything illegal was handled in cash. None of them knew just what they were walking into, which led them to send Elliot and Bianca, their best fighters, into the shop together to see what they could find out.

Hardison started talking into the coms, "Alright you two are Mr. Mickey Smith and Miss Martha Jones."

Bianca smiled, "Well done with the names Hardison."

"They're from that nerd show you two watch aren't they?" Elliot grumbled.

"And Mickey the idiot speaks," Hardison snickered, causing Bianca to cover her mouth to stifle her giggle.

"Don't blow our cover, Bi," Elliot whispered.

"Sorry, Mickey," Bianca smiled teasingly.

Elliot laced their fingers together and put on a lovey dovey smile as they approached the counter.

Bianca moved closer to Elliot's side as they waited for service, something felt very off about this place. "Maybe we should look somewhere else, honey?" She looked up at him for a moment and then let her eyes dart around the room.

"Something feels off, doesn't it?" Elliot asked softly.

Bianca nodded. She had come to trust these feelings she got deep in her gut, due to the fact that they had been proven right so many times since that day in high school. They had to get out or they would be the next "couple" to go missing.


End file.
